Described herein are shafted projectiles having a head and, more specifically, projectiles having at least one new and unique individual feature selected from the group consisting of a shaft, a head, a launcher engager, a tail, and an illuminator.
Projectiles can be broadly defined as devices that fly through the air. In most cases, the projectile is launched into its flying state using a launcher. A shafted projectile is a type of projectile that has a shaft that, in most cases, is an elongated shaft. Exemplary shafted projectiles include, but are not limited to, arrows, rockets, or darts. Exemplary shafted projectiles include U.S. Pat. No. 7,874,947 to Wolfinbarger et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,042,494 to Rappaport et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,792 to Hardison, U.S. Pat. No. 8,540,594 to Chu, U.S. Pat. No. 8,366,573 to Hunt, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,340,930 to Carissimi. Exemplary launchers include, but are not limited to, bows, mechanical launchers, slingshots, catapults, slings, and/or the human hand.
An arrow is a shafted projectile that is shot with a bow or similar device. For purposes of discussion, an arrow can be discussed in terms of its composite parts: an elongated shaft, a head, and fletching (stabilizing fins). The head is associated with a first leading end of the shaft (the head end) and the fletching is associated with the second trailing end of the shaft (the tail end). Traditional heads are “points” (sharp pieces that may be used for piercing objects at the end of the flight of the arrow), but alternative heads may be suction heads, and blunt plastic heads. The fletching assists in the flight of the arrow, and is traditionally attached to the back end of the shaft. The fletching may be, for example, stabilizing fins (also called feathers, airfoils, or vanes). A traditional arrow also includes a “nock” (e.g. a notch or slot) that may be used to attach the arrow to the bow string. The nock traditionally is associated with the trailing end of the arrow at or near the fletching. The fletching may be made from natural (e.g. feathers) or synthetic materials. An exemplary synthetic material is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,539,187 to Smith.
A traditional way to apply the fletching to the shaft is by adhering each fin to the shaft with adhesive or glue. Using glue to adhere the fletching is extremely time consuming. Moreover, as the fletching's primary purpose is to assist in the aerodynamics of the arrow's flight, applying the fletching must be done in a precise manner. If there are flaws or errors in attaching the fletching, the arrow may not fly straight or will otherwise not fly as intended.
Alternative methods to attach the fletching to the shaft include inserting one or more fin sections into a longitudinal slot in the trailing end of the shaft, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,882,055 to Meyer, U.S. Pat. No. 2,525,332 to Alger et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 613,386 to McKenney. Methods that leave the trailing end of the shaft open such as the Meyer and McKenney references may be less secure than desirable, as the fins may fall out of the shaft end. The Alger reference describes a method of stapling the nock at the trailing end of the arrow shaft to act as a securer that secures the previously inserted fin sections. This latter method contains small parts such as a wire staple that may be unsuitable for a children's toy. Thus, an improved method for attaching fins is desirable.
It has been recognized that it is advantageous to light or illuminate a projectile. This feature is desirable, for example, to help locate or recover the projectile if it is flown at night or is lost in dense brush, leaves, or the like. The Hardison reference discusses insertion of a light-emitting chemical light stick into the cavity of the nock. The Hunt reference discusses placement of a light-emitting material on arrow components such as vanes and nocks, light provided by a photo-luminescent material, a chemi-luminescent material, a refractive material, a reflective material, another light-emitting material, or a composite of these. The Chu reference discusses a nock assembly containing a light-emitting diode or like light source that illuminates the nock and nock housing. Additionally, the Carissimi reference contains a manual switch to control the light assembly by opening and closing an electric circuit, a light source being housed within the nock similar to the Chu reference.
There are several toy projectiles that have external illumination and helicopter structure. One example is the “LED Amazing Arrow Helicopter Flying Umbrella” that has an LED adjacent to the shaft that indirectly shines a light on the shaft. Another example is a “Marble Copter” that is available at www.scullduggery.com that has a light-up marble at one end of a shaft and the shaft “glows.” To use the Marble Copter one can “Fling the copter high into the air using the rubber band wand. It flies up to 50 feet in the nighttime sky, lights up and glows, as the light reflects off the hologram wings, and then helicopters to the ground.” One of the reviews of this toy suggested that it had a multi color strobe in the marble at the end of the shaft.